"Get Your Kicks on Route 66," often rendered simply as "Route 66," is a popular song and rhythm and blues standard, composed in 1946 by American songwriter Bobby Troup. It was first recorded in the same year by Nat King Cole, and was subsequently covered by many artists including Chuck Berry in 1961 and The Rolling Stones in 1964. The song's lyrics follow the path of the U.S. Route 66 highway, which used to run a long distance across the US, going from Chicago, Illinois to Los Angeles, California. There was even a popular TV show in the early 60's with the title, "Route 66."

I chose the name of my new Journal because like the song's title, "Route 66," I will be 66 years-old the next time I step onto a bodybuilding stage and I plan to "Get My Kicks" along the way by having a fun time preparing for my next Professional competition.

My final contest of this year was the 2008 NPA Nationals and Masters Universe in Ft. Lee, Virginia.. I won my fifth Best Poser award at the show and placed 2nd in my age group. I had also placed 2nd at the 2008 FAME Masters Pro World Championships in Toronto, Canada two weeks earlier.

While I entered both events in my best-ever condition, in each case I was bested by a man who was less conditioned than me, but was several pounds heavier. Not one to lick my wounds and and cry "foul," I was determined to get to work to bring my own "bigger" package to the stage next time.

I am in my third month of a lean mass gain program designed to add as much muscle as I can while keeping the usual accompanying additional fat in check. I am eating more (clean diet) and am lifting very heavy (for me) in the gym. My weight on June 28 was 140 pounds. My weight this morning is 165 pounds. I will stay around this weight until it's time to cut for my show. I believe I can come in hard and lean at around 150 pounds, 10 pounds more than I did this year.

I was around 6% body fat on stage for my last two shows. I was cut and defined, but, small. I may have to give up a few percentage points in fat in order to "look" bigger at 150 pounds. I'll make that decision when the time comes.

Since February 1st, I have been a full-time Certified Master Fitness Trainer at the Birmingham, Alabama YMCA. I average around 28 hours of personal training sessions each week. Five of my clients are training with me to prepare for their first bodybuilding competition. I have one middle weight and four heavy weights. Their ages range from 24 years-old to 50. I have all of them working the same training plans that I am using for my own training. I always tell my athletes I don't make them do anything I can't do. They are all preparing for a local NGA contest next May in Birmingham. It's possible that I will have all five of my competitors on stage in the Novice Class.

The plan we are currently using was designed by my friend and fellow bodybuilder, Sean "Sully" Sullivan of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. It's called "The Widow Maker" and it's a buster:

The Widow Maker Power Workout - A Four Week Training Plan
The purpose of this plan is to grow lean, hard muscle mass by lifting heavy for several sets with little rest in between, using the same weight load and then doing a Widow-Maker set of many reps for the same exercise.

Here is the Plan:

Keep the same weight for all 6 sets, but you may lose a rep or two at the end. For example set 1 - 4 you get the 6 reps, set 5, 5 reps and the last set 4. Pick a good weight and don't lower it even if it means 2-3 reps total on the last set.

On the high rep sets don't just do them light and go through the motions, go heavy and hard. For example on the 50 reps of squats pick a weight you can only get 20-30 reps with and then just take 2-3 deep breaths and bang out 4-6 more reps, breath and do more until you get the reps in. This is the Widow Maker set!

The rest between sets is 60-seconds and do a few warm-up sets before you begin the exercise

Stretch or Pose the working muscle between sets for 20-30 seconds.

Day 1:

Incline Bench Dumbbell Press  6 x 6, 1 X 20

Flat Bench Dumbbell Press  6 x 6, 1 X 20

High Pulls (wide grip upright row, but you pull to the forehead)  4 x 4

Heavy Laterals  3 x 8

Press Down  4 x 10

Decline Dumbbell Extensions - 4 X 8

Day 2:

Leg Press  6 x 6, 1 X 40

Squats  6 x 6, 1 X 30

Hack Squat  6 x 6, 1 X 20

Leg Curls 5 x 8

Leg Extensions  4 x 10

Day 3:

Reverse Grip Barbell Row  6 x 6, 1 X 20

Medium Grip Pull Down  6 x 6, 1 X 20

Dead Lifts  6 x 6, 1 X 30

Barbell Curls  4 x 6

Preacher Curls  4 x 10

Day 4:

Lunges - 6 X 6, 1 X 20

Seated Leg Curls - 6 x 6

Wide stance Squats (feet out wide, toes pointed out) - 6 X 6, 1 X 50

Dumbbell Stiff Leg Dead Lifts - 6 X 6

Step Ups (Step up, one leg at a time, on a high bench or aerobic step) 6 X 6

Calves and Abs work is done twice a week. Pick one exercise and do 5-6 sets of as many reps as you can do for each.

Do Cardio on off days from weights, 20 minutes of HITT or intervals. Do 5 min warm-up and 5 minute cool down so total time is 30 min with 20 being interval or HITT.

Needless to say, we are all walking around sore as hell. This is a great plan.

I hope you follow my progress on "Route 66" and enjoy the ride. Thank you for your interest.

It's been a busy two weeks since my last post in this journal. I continue to work Monday-Friday at the Mountain Brook (Birmingham) YMCA as a Master Fitness Trainer. I have 20 clients who train with me for 30+ hours a week. I also work with my training partner 90-minutes a day starting at 6:30 AM. My last client of the day trains at 5:00 or 5:30, so I'm spending nearly 11 hours a day at the Y. I love every minute of my time there.

Five of my clients are bodybuilders training for their first contests. One is a non-tested middle weight athlete and four are heavyweight natters. I'm having a great time watching their bodies change with the hard training and diet we are using. We are aiming for a show in May or June of 2009. We are all working the Widow Maker plan. It's very hard and very effective. We will probably work this plan for one more week and then switch to Hypertrophy Specific Training (HST) for awhile.

Last Friday, I was featured in Senior Living, a local newspaper for seniors. They did a story on me in the "Seniors Making a Difference" section. Cool. That same day, I was the guest speaker at the Vestavia Hills (Birmingham) Rotary Club luncheon and gave a presentation to 80 members on Life Style and Fitness for the Mature Athlete. It was well received.

My training is going well. I am three months into my year-long hiatus from competing in order to add a little size. Since my last show on June 28, I have gained 25 pounds. I of course don't look cut any longer, but I still have decent vascularity and I do see some increase in size, especially in my legs and chest. Happy Days!

I'm proud to announce the birth of my first grandson. Jayden was born Tuesday, September 30 in Newport Beach, California weighing 8.1 pounds. The future bodybuilder and his mom are doing fine. My wife, Vivian was in California for the birth and to help the new mom with her son. She returned home on Wednesday night. We have been blessed with two grandchildren this year. My oldest daughter gave birth to a girl, Gianna Marie in February. Little Gianna is a happy child who is crawling up a storm. We get to see more of our granddaughter as she lives in Birmingham, Alabama, close to Vivian and me.

My off season training continues to go well. I have added 20 pounds of weight and only 1% of body fat. That's cool. I'm training hard and eating clean. I hope to be ten pounds heavier than I was this year when I step on to a stage in mid 2009.

I am personal training more than 30 hours-a-week. Needless to say, I spend a lot of time in the gym. I have my five bodybuilder clients working the Escalation Density Training (EDT) plan, coupled with the Hungarian Oak Legs Blast. My guys are hurting in all the right places.

10 lbs is a serious increase in stage weight for 1 year. Congrats on the grandchildren, I am still waiting form mine, my oldest is only 20 so I guess I have a few years yet.

Yep, 10 pounds is alot. I believe I have made myself come in too lean in the past. I was less than 140 pounds, but cut up, for my last show. I think I can come in fuller (with a little bit of body fat) and look better a little bigger.

With me it was always so hard to maintain mass when I got very low, I have had a lot more success with losing slowly and actually gaining muscle with the help of some of the fine herbal products I have been using. The only question is how far can I recomp, how lean can I get without severe dieting. The answer to that is unknown I continue to slowly get leaner. If I can drop another couple of percentage points I will be happy with that as I am in really good shape now. As far as competing again.. who knows. I will definitely be in shooting range if I get down a little more before the end of the year. I am about 237 and 14% , the trend is about 1% down a month with next to know loss of weight, which means all fat loss.

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With me it was always so hard to maintain mass when I got very low, I have had a lot more success with losing slowly and actually gaining muscle with the help of some of the fine herbal products I have been using. The only question is how far can I recomp, how lean can I get without severe dieting. The answer to that is unknown I continue to slowly get leaner. If I can drop another couple of percentage points I will be happy with that as I am in really good shape now. As far as competing again.. who knows. I will definitely be in shooting range if I get down a little more before the end of the year. I am about 237 and 14% , the trend is about 1% down a month with next to know loss of weight, which means all fat loss.

Good planning. You are tracking well. You should be ready for the June, 2009 FAME Tournament of Champions in Montreal for sure.

It's been an interesting few weeks since my last post. I was invited to speak at the US Naval & Marine Corps Center in Bessemer, Alabama during their drill weekend. I spoke for an hour on the subject of wellness, exercise and diet. My talk went over very well. I will speak next at the US Army Center in Birmingham on December 6th on the same subject.

Last Saturday, I was in Coral Springs, Florida for the 2008 NGA Pro Universe, American International and Florida Natural Championships, where I had my first stint as Master of Ceremonies. I had a great time.

I am promoting a show in the summer, the 2009 NGA Alabama Natural Open Bodybuilding and Figure Championships to be held at Hoover High School (the same school whose football team was featured for two seasons on MTV).

I am entered in the 2009 FAME World Championships in Montreal, Canada, where I will compete in the Master Pro Division.

NGA Pro, John Rossman, and I are proud to announce the return of drug-free athletics to the Birmingham, Alabama area.

Please join us this summer in Birmingham for the...

2009 NGA Alabama Natural Open Bodybuilding and Figure Championships at the Hoover High School Auditorium in Hoover, Alabama (Birmingham) on Saturday, July 11, 2009.

The NGA Sanctioned show will be a Tier Three Pro Qualifier where we will award a NGA Open Pro Card, a NGA Figure Pro Card and an NGA Master Pro Card to the winners. All athletes will be drug tested before the event to ensure they meet the requirements for drug-free competition in the NGA.

If you have any questions, please send me an email and I will respond promptly. Thank you.